2025 Silent Prayer Retreat Exercises
John 1:38 - What are you looking for? - “The next day John [the Baptist] was there again with two of his disciples and as he watched Jesus pass by, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God.” The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him Rabbi…where are you staying? He said to them, “Come and you will see.”
Mark 10:51 - What do you wish me to do for you? - Bartimaeus, a blind man, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me. Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” He threw off his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, What do you wish me to do for you?
Mark 8:29 - Who do people say that I am? Who do you say that I am? – Along the way, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” They said in reply, John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.” And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” Psalm 37:4 NIV
He wants you to delight in him while you are here on retreat.
“The Lord your God is with you; he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you; he will quiet you with his love. He will rejoice over you with singing” Zephaniah 3:17 NIV
He takes great delight in you.
“You have made known to me the path of life; in your presence, there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” Psalms 16:11 NASB
There is joy right here, right now, and he wants you to find pleasure in his presence.
“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him.” Romans 15:13 NLT
His desire is that you are filled with joy and peace as you trust him in your time here.
Jesus, being God himself, came as a human to reveal and explain to mankind what God is really like.
For this exercise, spend some time in the texts that record statements Jesus made about Father God.
Allow the Holy Spirit to help you understand what these statements reveal about God’s character and ponder what impact that has upon your relationship with him.
Journal your observations and thoughts.
Scriptures to consider:
Matthew 5:43-45
Matthew 6:9
Matthew 6:31-34
Matthew 6:8
Mark 14:36
John 14:1-3
John 15:1,2
John 16:27
Ignatius said: “All things in the world are gifts of God, created for us, to be the means by which we can come to know him better, love him more surely, and serve him more faithfully.”
More than likely, Ignatius’ thoughts were influenced by King David when he wrote: “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day, they continue to speak; night after night, they make him known. They speak without a sound or a word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.”
For this exercise, begin to take an inventory of the “things” in the world around you that continually “speak” to you about the creativity and magnificence of God. Notice the large things (sun, oceans, universe…) as well as the small things (ants, coffee, dogs…).
Ponder how each of these things helps you to know, love, and serve God better.
In particular, try to imagine what God may be trying to say to YOU about himself through the things you observe.
TAKE TIME TO JUST MARVEL AT GOD
Journal your thoughts and discoveries.
At this point in our retreat, Ignatius challenges us to be honest with ourselves about ourselves. Through Spirit-led self-evaluation, the goal of this session is to deal with things in our lives that are out of step with the life that God is calling us to. Knowing that living according to the will of God, in the Kingdom of God, IS the life of freedom and blessing that God has for us.
For the following exercise, honestly place the various aspects of your life in the position you believe they are currently at in relation to the kingdom of God. Meaning, do you believe a particular area of your life is fully surrendered to God and fully under His rule and reign, or is that area functioning outside of God’s rule and reign?
Aspects of your life to consider:
Media consumption, use of money, relationships with those other than your spouse, relationship with your spouse, use of time, the way you speak to others, thought life, willingness to forgive, commitment to prayer and scripture, truth-telling/exaggeration, care for your body, involvement in ministry, sexual purity, loving your children/grandchildren, attitudes… (include other aspects of life that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind).
As you discover aspects of your life that are not fully surrendered to the rule and reign of King Jesus, offer those to him and ask how you can bring that under kingdom rule.
FOR EXAMPLE:
MEDIA - MAYBE
OUTSIDE OF
THE KINGDOM
In chapter 8 of Mark’s Gospel, he records the interaction between Jesus and his disciples where Jesus asks them who people think he is. They answer that some think he is John the Baptist, and others think he is Elijah. Then Jesus asks who they say he is. In response, Peter replies, “You are the Messiah.” (Matthew’s Gospel adds here that “flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”)
Following this interaction between Jesus and his disciples, Jesus begins to explain that He will eventually suffer, die, and be raised from the dead. In response to this, Peter took Jesus aside and reprimanded him for saying such things.
In response, Jesus said to Peter, “Get away from me, Satan! You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”
Although there are many things that we can learn from this text, for the sake of this exercise, there is one that we would like to point out—in one setting, Peter both explained a truth about who Jesus is (which Matthew reveals was a direct revelation from God) and he completely misunderstood Jesus’ mission. We don’t point this out to belittle Peter, but rather to reveal our human condition. As humans, we All have a lot of learning and growing to do. We All have things we misunderstand and All make mistakes.
In light of this reality, take some time and read the words that Jesus taught just after his encounter with Peter (Mark 8:34-38). Read the text slowly a couple of times through and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart about any ways that you are currently misunderstanding the truth that He is trying to reveal to you, or ways you are holding on to your own life instead of clinging to Him.
Remember, the Spirit reveals areas in your life so he can help you get better. His voice is not condemning but encouraging. Journal your thoughts.
If you have been married for any length of time, you know that marriage isn’t always easy. Retired professor Dr. Berl Best often stated that an “A” marriage takes “A” effort to achieve.
While on retreat, you have the opportunity to evaluate your marriage and to especially evaluate how you are doing in your marriage, asking yourself if you are putting in “A” effort.
For the purpose of evaluation, we have provided a standard marriage vow. Review this vow statement by statement and “grade” yourself in each area, thinking about what implications each statement makes regarding your current relationship.
For instance, when evaluating “for richer, for poorer,” ask questions such as: have times of financial difficulty caused you to be unkind to your spouse, or have times of financial prosperity caused you to neglect your spouse in the pursuit of other things?
If you wrote your own vows, possibly you remember them and can replace the provided vows with what you actually stated on your wedding day.
“Grade” only yourself in this exercise. This is a self-evaluation for your growth and development. If you find that there is an area where you give yourself a poor grade, use that as an opportunity to ask Jesus how you could do better. Then, come up with at least one way you could get better in that area. Record your commitment in your journal so you can remind yourself about this in future days.
“I, _________, take thee, _________, to be my wedded wife (husband),
to have and to hold from this day forward,
for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish,
till death do us part.”
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
So, don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
Matthew 6:25-34 NLT
Exercise
Find a comfortable place to sit with your Bible & journal.
Read the above portion of Scripture a few times through.
Begin to think through your worries of everyday life. List them as they come to mind.
Read the above portion of Scripture again, imagine hearing Jesus speaking these words to you directly.
If you can and the weather permits, consider taking a walk to look at for birds in the air and flowers in the areas around the Retreat Center.
As you see the birds and flowers, begin to talk with the Lord about the worries you listed earlier.
Take time for prayer, asking him to take the worries you are carrying.
Take time to listen for His voice.
Take time to rest in His presence.
Make notes in your journal on what you experience and what you hear from Him during this time
When Jesus’ disciples asked him how they should pray, Jesus felt that forgiveness was important enough to include. Forgiveness for our own sins and forgiveness for those who sin against us.
In this exercise, you will have time to examine sin in your own life and then move on to evaluate if there are those you need to forgive. Please take time to prayerfully read and sit with the below instructions, allowing the Holy Spirit to show you anything that He may want you to deal with in the hours ahead.
“And forgive us our debts” – Reflection of Self
Find something heavy and take a walk
As you walk, think of the heavy item as the sin you are carrying
Ask the Lord, what specific sins do you still carry, even though God has removed them from you as far as the East is from the West?
Name the sins you still carry, even if only from time to time.
Find a table. Let the table represent Jesus, and unload your burden onto Jesus.
Then walk around again and notice how much easier it is to walk
Come back to Jesus (the table) and thank Jesus for carrying your burdens, so that you no longer have to carry them, ever.
Then take a walk again, imagining Jesus right beside you as you walk without the burden. Notice how this feels when the weight has been lifted.
“As we forgive our debtors” – Reflection of others
Imagine yourself standing at the back of a long center aisle.
At the front of that center aisle is a very large throne.
God, the Father, is seated on that throne, watching you walk to him.
In your mind, picture standing next to you a person you desire to forgive.
Now, take that person by the hand and begin walking them down the aisle to God.
As you walk, begin telling him your story. Ask Him to help you. Tell him your pain and difficulty in walking the path of forgiveness to him.
Once you have made it to the front of the aisle, and are standing in front of him with the person, hand-in-hand, take the person and hand them to the Father.
Tell the Father that you desire to forgive them. Release that person to him.
Then sit with your Father, listening to hear if he has anything to speak to your heart.
In our talk for week 3, we briefly looked at two examples from Jesus’ life when he faced temptation. From those stories, we noted three things that Jesus did during those times that helped him to overcome temptation—He turned to his friends, He turned to his heavenly Father, and He turned to God’s word for wisdom.
For this exercise, we encourage you to turn to one or both of the referenced texts (Gethsemane Matt. 26:36-46, Wilderness Matt. 4:1-11) and place yourself in the story. Imagine that you are either with Jesus in Gethsemane or facing Satan’s temptations in the wilderness. Notice the aforementioned things that Jesus did to overcome temptation, and also look for other things he did to help him overcome. Note these in your journal.
Then change places with Jesus.
Think about who you would invite into your Gethsemane situation. Why would you invite them? Do you have trusted friends you would feel comfortable asking to walk through temptation with you?
Think about how you normally respond during temptation. Do you turn to your heavenly Father, or do you respond more like Adam and Eve, who ran and hid? Are you hiding from the Lord right now because you are failing in your battle with temptation?
Think about how you use God’s Word during times of temptation. Do you stand upon the plainly revealed truth of God’s Word, or do you twist it to fit your situations? Do you trust God’s Word more than your own reasoning?
As you respond to these questions, rest in the reality that your heavenly Father is your Abba. He loves you and wants to help you overcome the schemes of the enemy. He never intended for you to face temptation alone-Jesus didn’t. He is providing all you need to overcome.
We pray: “O God, please give me the ability to empathize with Jesus’s grief, as well as the suffering of others. Grant me the strength and courage to follow his example.”
For this exercise, slowly read through the crucifixion story (Mark 15:21-39).
Do your best to “experience” the events as written.
Realize that you are watching this happen to your Savior and friend. Don’t rush through the text; linger in each scene.
Make a note of how you are feeling.
Next, think of the person you love most. Imagine that you know your loved one’s death is imminent. Or recall a time when you lost such a loved one.
Make a note of how you are feeling/felt.
What do you want to say to this person before he or she dies?
Now, let the feelings you experience be transferred to what it would be like watching Jesus die.
What do you want to say to Jesus, knowing that he died for you?
How does knowing Jesus died for you affect how you want to interact with others?
One of the practices Ignatius is known for is that of encouraging people to “enter into” biblical stories. He taught that although scripture can tell a story with a brief explanation, yet in actuality, that story had much more detail. Therefore, Ignatius encourages us to “sit” with a scriptural story and imagine what else took place. Now, in doing this exercise, Ignatius was in no way trying to add to scripture, but was simply challenging Christians to linger in Scripture and listen for what the Holy Spirit may have to say by way of application to your life situation.
It is this approach to scripture that we encourage you to take with this exercise. In our session, we talked about the encounter between Jesus and Peter after they ate breakfast on the beach. We found that Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him, and three times Peter said yes, one for each time Peter previously denied Jesus.
Now, for you, we encourage you to spend an extended time slowly reading through this story in John chapter 21. Put yourself in Peter’s place. Try to imagine what the encounter with Jesus would have been like, from realizing that it was Jesus by the fire to answering his question for the third time. Pay attention to how you feel and what emotions you are experiencing.
Then, sit with Jesus and ask him what question he would ask you if you were together on that beach. What issues might there be between the two of you that have never been brought into the light of your relationship or that you believe he could never forgive you for? What thoughts of past shame or guilt rise to the surface from your subconscious? What hidden things do you maybe feel guilty about?
Allow these to come to the light of his Kingdom and confess them to Jesus, knowing that by his power, he can bring healing to any area of your life. And then, based on how we see Jesus deal with Peter, accept Jesus’ total and complete forgiveness and restoration. Notice that Jesus didn’t chastise Peter. Rather, he allowed Peter to reaffirm his love for Jesus, and then Jesus commissioned him into ministry—no guilt or shame or issues between them.
As you walk through this exercise, record in your journal your thoughts and feelings.
In Wayne Cordeiro’s book Leading on Empty, he challenges readers to examine their lives and determine what the “critical 5 percent” of their lives is. By this, Cordeiro means taking the time to ask yourself what are the things in your life that only you can do. What are the things that are the most important to you, and those things that God has asked only you to do? Cordeiro came up with the following list for himself: 1. A vibrant, growing relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2. A healthy and genuine relationship with my spouse. 3. An authentic family that is close to God and close to one another. 4. A God-pleasing ministry. 5. A physically healthy body and a creative soul. 6. Taking time to enjoy life with family and friends.
As you spend these final hours of retreat in silence, ask yourself what the “critical 5 percent” is in your life. Examine what things you give your energy and attention to, and ask this simple question: If I had one year to live, what things would I choose to give my time and attention to?
Then, prayerfully make a list of the essentials (your “5 percent”) and non-essentials. From this list, write down a few things that you are determined to give more attention to going forward, and those things that you are going to let go of or delegate to others. I say a few things because it is wise to focus on a few achievable changes rather than creating an exhaustive list and giving up in frustration after a short while.
Remember, we live by the power and glory of the Risen Savior, and he is partnering with you in your growth and development in Christlikeness; therefore, “…with God all things are possible.” So, as you discover what the essentials are in your life and commit to making changes to prioritize these in your life, you can be assured that the Holy Spirit will empower you to take steps in the right direction.
And that is the hope of week #4. To have renewed hope for a better future and to rely on the power and glory of our risen Savior as we walk with him through each day.